So many broken links and missing codes today.

ExpandCollapse

New Member

Is this normal? 9/10 of the HITs I'm qualified for are giving me broken links, no audio, and asking me to submit surveys with a code that is never given at the end. I feel like my abandonment/return rate is getting high, but I don't want to risk submitting "bad" work because my approval rating is 100%. -__-

ExpandCollapse

Talk Anime to Me

When it does, contact the requester. If you have Mturk Suite installed, in the HIT frame, you can click "Hit Details" and it'll have a contact button. If you submit the HIT, you can also go into your work history on your dashboard for that day and there'll be a contact button beside the job.

The majority if requesters are very good at helping people who run into technical problems with their HITs.

With jobs that have link or audio problems, message them when you run into the issue. For those types of circumstances, I don't recommend submitting the HIT unless you were able to complete all the work. In an example where, say, you run into a broken link, it's best to let them know and wait for them to get back to you. Sometimes they will set up another HIT for you to do or will just tell you to submit for compensation. Other times they might just bonus you the compensation. It just depends on the requester. (There is that off chance they don't reply, though - so try to use your best judgement.)

For the jobs where you finish and aren't given a code, you can submit with your Mturk ID and send them a message letting them know. I've done this a lot for no-code HITs and usually they'll get back to you and approve your work. (Again, sometimes you might get a requester who doesn't reply to emails - but this is just somewhat of a risk you have to take. Most do reply and are very helpful.)

That being said, I've never had a requester reject over missing codes, so long as I message them about it after I submit. Sometimes they don't reply but approve it. It varies by requester but it's a good practice to get into so you're protecting your time and effort. Otherwise, when you return these jobs, you're not getting paid at all, which in my opinion is much worse than taking the small risk or getting a few rejections.

ExpandCollapse

New Member

When it does, contact the requester. If you have Mturk Suite installed, in the HIT frame, you can click "Hit Details" and it'll have a contact button. If you submit the HIT, you can also go into your work history on your dashboard for that day and there'll be a contact button beside the job.

The majority if requesters are very good at helping people who run into technical problems with their HITs.

With jobs that have link or audio problems, message them when you run into the issue. For those types of circumstances, I don't recommend submitting the HIT unless you were able to complete all the work. In an example where, say, you run into a broken link, it's best to let them know and wait for them to get back to you. Sometimes they will set up another HIT for you to do or will just tell you to submit for compensation. Other times they might just bonus you the compensation. It just depends on the requester. (There is that off chance they don't reply, though - so try to use your best judgement.)

For the jobs where you finish and aren't given a code, you can submit with your Mturk ID and send them a message letting them know. I've done this a lot for no-code HITs and usually they'll get back to you and approve your work. (Again, sometimes you might get a requester who doesn't reply to emails - but this is just somewhat of a risk you have to take. Most do reply and are very helpful.)

That being said, I've never had a requester reject over missing codes, so long as I message them about it after I submit. Sometimes they don't reply but approve it. It varies by requester but it's a good practice to get into so you're protecting your time and effort. Otherwise, when you return these jobs, you're not getting paid at all, which in my opinion is much worse than taking the small risk or getting a few rejections.

TLDR: when in doubt, always message the requester.

I hope this helps

Click to expand...

Thank you, that was really kind of you to go to all the trouble of giving a detailed explanation. I do have the Mturk Suite installed but it was slowing down my speed while working so I was just using Turkopticon. I didn't even think to message the requesters, I just returned the work after reporting it.

Unfortunately, I'm an idiot and chose to work on some random requesters' HITs today that I now know TO users have flagged as being terrible. I was under the impression I was doing well and didn't need to choose only "green" icons, but nah, I'm fucked. Lol. I'm not sure I'll be able to continue mturking now because I have a ton of pending projects and 2 rejections, and that's only after 2 days. Can only imagine what my approval rate will be by the end of the week. -__-

ExpandCollapse

Talk Anime to Me

Thank you, that was really kind of you to go to all the trouble of giving a detailed explanation. I do have the Mturk Suite installed but it was slowing down my speed while working so I was just using Turkopticon. I didn't even think to message the requesters, I just returned the work after reporting it.

Unfortunately, I'm an idiot and chose to work on some random requesters' HITs today that I now know TO users have flagged as being terrible. I was under the impression I was doing well and didn't need to choose only "green" icons, but nah, I'm fucked. Lol. I'm not sure I'll be able to continue mturking now because I have a ton of pending projects and 2 rejections, and that's only after 2 days. Can only imagine what my approval rate will be by the end of the week. -__-

Click to expand...

You're welcome I'm glad I could help with that.

Awwww, try not to be so hard on yourself Sometimes these things happen. It doesn't make you lesser or 'stupid'. Mturk can be a beast at times, but everyone on here has made some kind of 'mistake' during their time turking. It's all in the name of learning though, and now that you know, you can be more choosy with your work

When I first started turking, I did a lot of work for a certain requester (*cough*John Brelig*cough*) and had all of it rejected haha. But as long as you keep doing tasks, your buffer for rejections will get bigger and they won't hurt so much. I know it can be difficult when your account is new, though... just do what you can and cut yourself some slack

On a site note, if some of those tasks you did had issues (even if it's something where, say, you thought you were doing them right but aren't sure), it might be a good idea to message them. Sometimes just explaining to a requester what's going on can save you from some rejections, especially if they know you are new to this. Might not always pan out (because sometimes there are those requesters who just don't reply or don't fix issues) but it can make you feel better knowing you did what you could.

I recommend peeking around in the daily work threads if you haven't already and see what jobs people post. The forum is really good at picking out HITs and requesters that are worth working for. TO is good to check before working for requesters, but sometimes it isn't always accurate. Sometimes a requester will have a red TO for some silly reason and actually be a good person to work for.

Now that that's said... don't forget to take time for yourself, especially when you're feeling stressed out. Sometimes a nice bath or some pampering is in order to get you back in the game. Just remember, we're all here for you! You got this! You can do this! You will persevere!

not trying to come off weird or commanding lol, just wanna give some comfort because we're all human and we've all been there at one time or another!

ExpandCollapse

New Member

Awwww, try not to be so hard on yourself Sometimes these things happen. It doesn't make you lesser or 'stupid'. Mturk can be a beast at times, but everyone on here has made some kind of 'mistake' during their time turking. It's all in the name of learning though, and now that you know, you can be more choosy with your work

When I first started turking, I did a lot of work for a certain requester (*cough*John Brelig*cough*) and had all of it rejected haha. But as long as you keep doing tasks, your buffer for rejections will get bigger and they won't hurt so much. I know it can be difficult when your account is new, though... just do what you can and cut yourself some slack

On a site note, if some of those tasks you did had issues (even if it's something where, say, you thought you were doing them right but aren't sure), it might be a good idea to message them. Sometimes just explaining to a requester what's going on can save you from some rejections, especially if they know you are new to this. Might not always pan out (because sometimes there are those requesters who just don't reply or don't fix issues) but it can make you feel better knowing you did what you could.

I recommend peeking around in the daily work threads if you haven't already and see what jobs people post. The forum is really good at picking out HITs and requesters that are worth working for. TO is good to check before working for requesters, but sometimes it isn't always accurate. Sometimes a requester will have a red TO for some silly reason and actually be a good person to work for.

Now that that's said... don't forget to take time for yourself, especially when you're feeling stressed out. Sometimes a nice bath or some pampering is in order to get you back in the game. Just remember, we're all here for you! You got this! You can do this! You will persevere!

not trying to come off weird or commanding lol, just wanna give some comfort because we're all human and we've all been there at one time or another!

Click to expand...

Oh, my Gosh, you should just have a PayPal button in your signature for giving good advice, lol.

I'm sorry to hear about John Brelig. Honestly, I don't understand how people can be unsympathetic to mturkers - many of us are working for *literally* nothing. I like the tone of the reviews on Turkopticon, they just straight-up give requesters bad reviews for paying too little or treating people like shit, sometimes without even working for them - I definitely need to check the rating on there scrupulously before I partake in any other work. The best requester for me has been CrowdSurf. Despite the low pay, it's been 100% approval rating and immediate approval, even when I realize (after the fact) that I've made small errors or f'ed things up, like advanced chemistry terminology spoken in a nearly incomprehensible accent.

I've e-mailed every rejection and I think I'm going to send an e-mail to one of them preemptively because it appears she's rejected every single person's work for numerous reasons (*cough* Chitralekha Gupta *cough*). I'll try to take solace in the idea that the more work I do, the less these things will matter. It really sucks that the majority of the rejecter requesters appear to be biased individuals looking to assert dominance in the only way they can rather than viewing their e-slaves as human beings, but it is what it is.

ExpandCollapse

Active Member

Don't sweat the early rejections. Just get back on track and try to get to 99% and stay there.
One tip for "broken links": if the link takes you to a page that is plain text, and has a brief one line message (I've forgotten what it is right now...) saying there is no survey available, try deleting the final portion of the URL, beginning at the & and containing your ID. Then retry the URL.

ExpandCollapse

Talk Anime to Me

Oh, my Gosh, you should just have a PayPal button in your signature for giving good advice, lol.

I'm sorry to hear about John Brelig. Honestly, I don't understand how people can be unsympathetic to mturkers - many of us are working for *literally* nothing. I like the tone of the reviews on Turkopticon, they just straight-up give requesters bad reviews for paying too little or treating people like shit, sometimes without even working for them - I definitely need to check the rating on there scrupulously before I partake in any other work. The best requester for me has been CrowdSurf. Despite the low pay, it's been 100% approval rating and immediate approval, even when I realize (after the fact) that I've made small errors or f'ed things up, like advanced chemistry terminology spoken in a nearly incomprehensible accent.

I've e-mailed every rejection and I think I'm going to send an e-mail to one of them preemptively because it appears she's rejected every single person's work for numerous reasons (*cough* Chitralekha Gupta *cough*). I'll try to take solace in the idea that the more work I do, the less these things will matter. It really sucks that the majority of the rejecter requesters appear to be biased individuals looking to assert dominance in the only way they can rather than viewing their e-slaves as human beings, but it is what it is.

Thank you for all the kind words, yet again. Internet hugz, yo.

Click to expand...

Hahaha that's quite nice of you to say I'm just happy to help. And no worries on Brelig ~ That was over two years ago and after turking this long, my account recovered.

I agree with you. It's unfortunate sometimes, but the only way we can connect with requesters (unless they have accounts on the forums) is sending out those emails and "humanizing" ourselves to them so they know we're not a bot or a troll trying to screw them over. (You can thank all the scammy workers over the years for that.) I can't say I know why requesters pay what they pay, but I do know that mturk's interface provides requesters with information that can be outdated. A good example of that is how they explain blocks. Unless it has changed, they don't tell requesters that blocks hurt our accounts - just that it is a good practice for filtering study applicants. (I do think many requesters are now aware of it but yeah...)

Find those requesters you really like and hold onto them And once you get beyond the milestones (5k hits, 10k hits, etc) you'll start seeing more work, too Crowdsurf is pretty good, imo. They also have their own website where they give out bonuses. My bf informed me it has a difficult qualification test, but it might be worth checking out if you enjoy those tasks

I'll be crossing my fingers the requesters can work with you and get those rejections cleared up!